TRANSMUTE!

I forgot what the Japanese translation for that was, but ah well. I'm still hoping that Full Metal Alchemist will someday recieve a (proper) English dubbing. I dunno why. Some angry anime fans tell me that animes shouldn't be dubbed, but I say they should. Simply because staring at subtitles for hours at end can get annoying, and it's dumb. If I wanted to watch subtitles for three hours at an end, I could get that out of a simple Hindustan movie. Or another one of those Chinese movies where people defy gravity and a couple of other laws of physics. Oh well.

Anyway, I just finished downloading the Full Metal Alchemist movie, and KABLAH! It's not the camcorder version like the one Shah downloaded some time ago. This one is proper, clear and... has subtitles. Good ones. I won't spoil the movie for other FMA fans, but I'll tell you this much: It doesn't spoil the depth and intensity of the series, the characters and their feelings are as alive as before. But be prepared for an ending you may not agree with. I sure didn't. It didn't feel happy enough for me, but I guess that's what makes FMA stand out- it's not cheesy. But in all respects, it tied up most of the loose ends left behind by the series, which makes it a good movie for the series itself. Which is, by all regards, an accomplishment because as far as I've seen, anime movies based on anime series tend to become... disappointing. (*cough*Narutomovies*cough*firstSamuraiXmovie*cough*CardcaptorSakuramovie*cough) Okay that's enough.

All in all, I guess I have to admit that even though I am 'against' anime most of the time, I make an exception for FMA. And it is the best out there by far, simply because:

1) The battles aren't long, draggy, and riddled with flashbacks.
2) The battles don't involve cliches like the good guys getting thrashed in the beginning, before somehow gaining some supercool move to finish off the bad guy at the end.
3)In fact, not much emphasis is placed on the battles to begin with, which safely puts FMA in a spot above what I would call 'brainless brawlers'- animes which have a fanbase concerned only with 'who's stronger than who' or 'what new moves this guy has'. Those type of animes are the reason I'm against anime.
4)The storyline is actually deep and meaningful. It's not as cliche'd as a person wanting to become the strongest/greatest (Naruto) or about saving the world (Dragonball).
5)Though the main character is bratty and loud, and the jokes about his height grow old eventually, he really is loveable, because regardless of how he's the central character, we're constantly reminded of how human he is. Not some chosen one, or a person who's got some fox demon in his belly which makes him stronger. He's just like everyone else (in his world).
6)FMA doesn't overglorify Japanese culture like other animes tend to do. Though some might argue that animes have a right to do this, since Western movies glorify Western culture, you KNOW they've crossed the line when they show samurai dodging bullets or 'samurai cowboys'. That's just so... wrong.
7)FMA has close to zero plot holes. If they say alchemists can 'only do this', then alchemists can 'only do this'. People don't suddenly come up with new moves or special abilities that they're not supposed to have.
8)FMA brings out emotion WITHOUT banking on a girl-guy relationship. While Khairul and some romance-lovers may be suckers for that, I'm not. Again, if I'm looking for heartfelt romance, I can find it in a good Julia Roberts movie, or a Hindustan movie. In FMA, no 'guy-girl' relationships are highlighted at all- keeping fans guessing. Though it may SEEM like some characters are close, it's seldom proven. Emotions brought up in FMA are purely based on 'companionship', 'brotherhood', or 'family'. There, you see? You don't need to have a girlfriend to be the hero of a story, or to win a battle when you suddenly have long, boring flashbacks about her, reminding you why you have to win.
9)A continuation from the overglorifying Japanese culture part- since FMA is based on alchemy, and alchemy IS based from western civilization, FMA drove the fact home- in that the names of the characters involved with it are not named 'Sasuke' or 'Kenchin' or 'Hayate'. FINALLY we have an anime which doesn't claim that 'the Japanese invented EVERYTHING!' The names of the characters are western, like alchemy itself- Edward, Alphonse, Roy, Liza, Fury and Bradley to name a few.
10) Finally, and you could say most importantly, the characters don't scream the names of their moves before performing them. In fact their moves don't HAVE names. No 'KAMEHAMEHA!' here. No 'KAGEBUNSHINNOJUTSU!' either. I find the whole concept daft. Why would you scream the name of your move for your opponent to hear? Wouldn't that help them anticipate what you're gonna do? Bakane...

Oh, and as an added plus, the characters don't carry gigantic swords, or defy physics by flying around much. Save for the alchemy bits, everything else keeps to normalcy. No flying or balls of energy (Dragonball), no running up walls and waterfalls (Naruto), no swords cutting through walls (Samurai X), no space battles where explosions have sound, no there is NO sound in space (Vandread and every other anime you can think of involving giant robots), no demons or curses, heaven or hell.

Khairul, if you can convince me that Bleach doesn't involve any of the above mentioned daftness, or if Bleach even remotely hits any of the marks pointed out in my ten reasons why FMA is the best, then maybe, just maybe I'll try it out.

The only other anime that hit the mark (not all ten reasons, but some) was Wolf's Rain. No long arduous battles. No huge muscles. No flashy moves. Though the names were STILL Japanese. If anything, I found that blasphemous. Japan is the only country to have driven their population of native wolves (the Japanese subspecies of grey wolf) to complete extinction. I don't think they have a right to pretend to glorify them now.

(sigh) That was a long rant. Anime fans from KYUEM may step up to the defense of their favourite animes at Chalet L-02. Maybe, if you can somehow convince me that flying people and flashy balls of light is actually deep and meaningful, and even remotely intellectual, I might actually convert.

(sniggers) Good luck.